Expert: Paul Henneman - 2/9/2010

Question
My question is about what would be some good things to take in school to help me along the way with stocks and bonds anything that you think would better prepare me or help me just with a better understanding of stocks in bonds in general would help a lot thanks.

Answer
Krys,
   Thank you for your question! Unfortunately school is not a good place to get information on investing. It is unfortunate that more schools don't offer some courses on this, but the sad case is that most do not. This is why so many people are so dramatically unprepared to plan for their financial future.
   However, all is not lost. There are sources out there readily available to you outside of school.   I suggest two things to get started. First, get a copy of "Investing for Dummies". This will give you the basic information on most aspects of investing (including stocks and bonds), that you can begin to build on. It is a great place to start and the book is available on amazon.com, in most major bookstores, and at most libraries.
   The second thing I suggest is joining AAII (American Association of Individual Investors). This organization sends out monthly newsletters, and has a good website filled with information for the individual investor, again stocks and bonds are well covered.  I would read the above book first to get your basic knowledge up to speed, then take a look at AAII.

I hope that this helps gets you started. Please do not hesitate to follow up with me if I can be of any additional service,

Sincerely,
Paul Henneman
President
ValuEngine Inc
www.ValuEngine.com